Tortured Souls in Falling Snow
by TeaBrew
Summary: Christmas Eve, AC 197, Heero's memories of the snow start to haunt him and Wufei gives him a talk to cheer him up. 1+2 shounen-ai (nothing too serious) + a depressed Heero.


Heero shivered as he stared out of the large window ****

Tortured Souls in Falling Snow…

Heero shivered as he stared out of the large window. It was Christmas time and everyone had gathered to celebrate the joyous eve. Snow softly scratched at the glass and he found himself smiling slightly.

*…Duo loves the snow…* he thought absent-mindedly. *He said so last Christmas…hah…Christmas…the birth of Christ all those years ago. Are we really so different then from those times? If anything, we're exactly the same…forgetting all our cares, our worries…all so we can come together and celebrate.*

He smirked. *Duo should be the most serious one at this time. Maybe that's why he hasn't come back yet…he probably went to pay his respects at the church up the road. Strange…a priest…the God of Death so distracted by the thought of gifts and warm meals and a burning fireplace…why shouldn't he be out praying instead? He's so… distinct…unique in his own ways…* Heero sighed, his warm breath fogging a patch onto the window.

"He's also late…" he mumbled.

Heero snorted and turned away from the window. He hated Christmas, especially the snow. The wretched snow…

*Just like that night…and the day after…oh God…* He sat down heavily onto the window ledge. *The snow…tainted with ash and burnt blood…I…I never knew her name…Imoto…(little sister)* Heero sighed quietly and bowed his head from the others in the room. He stared hard at the polished wooden floor of Quatre's mansion. The lavishly decorated tree stood next to him, a monument to the celebration. Heero closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of him.

"Please…" He whispered softly. "Let the snow stop…for…Imoto…"

A shadow suddenly blocked the light in front of him and he opened up his eyes and tilted his head back to stare directly at Wufei. The Chinese boy had let his hair out of its normally tight ponytail and it came down to just below his ears. He raised an eyebrow at Heero.

"I've never known you to be the praying type, Yuy." He said in a sceptical tone.

Heero suddenly felt strangely embarrassed as he looked up at Wufei. He shrugged and turned away.

"It's Christmas…everyone gets into the religious feeling of the moment while they can," He paused to stare directly at Wufei. "Even soldiers need to have some release from the killing."

Wufei snorted and slumped down next to him. "You really are a strange one Yuy…the last war ended a year ago and you're still going on about that soldier crap."

Heero stiffened. "You haven't changed much either you know."

"So? At least I'm not a god damn robot all the time." He paused to glare at Heero, stony black meeting cobalt. "Listen…Heero…"

Heero frowned and turned away, sitting his chin into his palm. "Wufei, I'm not interested in one of your glory speeches. If you really must, record it and send it to me after Christmas. I'm not interested right now."

"You might be if you'll hear me out."

Heero turned towards him and his body froze. Wufei had a look of total sincerity and calm about him that the Japanese boy had never seen before. The Chinese teen was never like this, even in his most serious moments. It made Heero swallow slightly.

"Listen, do you ever wonder about Duo's logic, Heero?" The boy paused. "Why would he choose you over anyone else? You and I are probably the only two guys in this whole damn house that know that they're truly lucky."

Wufei stood up and put his hand on Heero's shoulder. "Heero, loosen up a bit…don't play on the past, memories only haunt you. And Duo could use someone tonight…someone who knows what he's feeling."

With that he turned and left a stunned Heero sitting on the window ledge. Heero just blinked after him. Was what he said true? He stared up at the tree…and gasped.

There, pinned to a branch, was a small yellow flower with a note attached to it. He stood slowly and looked around cautiously. No one save him was in the room. Heero reached up and took down the small blossom, tucking it into his shirt pocket as he opened the simple note. It was scrawled roughly in Duo's handwriting.

__

Salingis Church. 12am. Alone. Heero swallowed through a dry throat. He quickly glanced up at the clock. 11:53.

*Shit…* He bolted from his place and out into the hallway, footsteps thudding on the hard floor. He rounded a corner and swiped his jacket from the hook as he whipped open the front door and tore outside into the snowy night.

His harsh breathing and crunching footsteps were the only sounds as he raced along the sidewalk, looking around to where Duo had pointed out the church. A large steeple suddenly loomed out through the falling sheets of white and he kept running.

Heero skidded to a halt at the gate, avoiding the gazes of the people just leaving the service. The minister stood at the gate, thanking them as they passed. Heero stood for a moment with his hand on the gate to steady his breathing. He coughed as several flakes of snow invaded his open mouth and nostrils. The minister looked up at him and smiled.

"Hello there, is there something I can help you with?" He asked warmly.

Heero nodded and began to describe Duo, asking whether he'd seen him. The minister nodded and led Heero inside the large oak doors. The two passed through the long hallway and stopped at the back of the main hall. The minister pointed to a lone figure slumped in the front pew.

Heero felt his heart clench. That was Duo.

He thanked the man and walked up the long aisle, glancing up at the thousands of candles lit around the statues. He stopped in front of Duo and sighed, sitting down softly next to the sleeping boy.

Heero smiled and brushed a stray lock of hair from his eyes. His eyes…softly closed and sealed with those beautiful lashes. Heero smiled warmly. He always liked his eyes… Duo stirred in his sleep and his head rolled over to face Heero. The Japanese boy stared at him in concern.

*Oh Duo…you're been crying again haven't you?* He ran his callused thumb softly over the dry tear trails on his cheek.

Duo's eyelids fluttered open, not yet registering the fact that Heero was there with him. He felt the warm touch on his face and smiled ever so slightly before closing his eyes again and drifting back to sleep.

"…so…warm…" he whispered, barely audible. "…mother…"

Heero moved in closer and placed a kiss softly onto the boys' nose before nestling Duo's head onto his shoulder. He smiled warmly as Duo reached up and clutched at Heero's shirt in his sleep. Heero wrapped his arms around him and glanced at his watch. It was now past midnight. Heero sighed and closed his eyes.

"Merry Christmas Duo…" he whispered.

Inside, two lovers began to drift into the realm of sleep…outside, the snow began to relinquish, and stopped with the tolling of the bells.

****

The End

Note: Another on of my whim stories…after reading Akiko's comic "A Warm Christmas" this began to bug me (so what if it's the middle of July when I wrote it!?) so I wrote my own story about Christmas. Have to say it did turn out ok…I guess…hmm, morbid Hee-chan and a serious Wufei. I actually decided to stop bashing Wu-man in this fic for once, weird ne? Ah well, check out mbp's site (hosts Akiko's work too) at [http://www.angelfire.com/anime/mbp12/index.html][1] (shameless plug I know, but hey…) and the usual, review if you want or just bung in an idea/request in the same chunk.

   [1]: http://www.angelfire.com/anime/mbp12/index.html



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